Rain in wildfirescarred California will end the fire threat

US - Heavy rain this week could help quench the Camp Fire burning in Northern California, bringing with it an end to the threat of more wildfires this year but also new dangers.

The rain will end “fire concerns for the winter,” Robert Baruffaldi, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service’s Sacramento office, told CNN.

However, officials in Butte County are warning residents already devastated by the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in the state’s history that rain arriving Wednesday could cause flash flooding and mudflows. The Camp Fire has killed 79 people, 64 of whom authorities have tentatively identified. The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch from Wednesday through Friday for the Camp Fire area.

Fire-weary residents in Butte County prepared themselves for potential flooding. Jennifer Debrunner, who is staying at the Butte County Fairgrounds in an RV loaned by a stranger, said her family has covered everything her family owns with a tarp. She told CNN affiliate KCRA-TV the rain will bring “a lot of mud, a lot of cold” but she’s glad her family has the RV. Cady Machado told CNN affiliate KTXL-TV she’s been staying in a Walmart parking lot with her husband and 9-month-old baby. Because of the incoming rain, Machado says she’s sending her child to her sister’s home in Arizona. She and her husband have other plans to stay safe from the elements, she said.

“There’s a nice bridge with my name on it to go underneath where I won’t get flooded out with my husband,” she said.

The Red Cross and other organizations have opened additional shelter buildings for people and pets in advance of the rain, KCRA reported.

“We want to make sure those people who are staying in tents know that these spaces are available for them so they can get out of the elements,” Shawn Boyd with California’s Office of Emergency Services told KCRA.

Rain is expected to arrive in Butte County on Wednesday, bringing about an inch of rain to Paradise, the town virtually wiped out by the Camp Fire, Baruffaldi told CNN. Baruffaldi said the rain may cause “ash flows.”

A second rain system arriving Thursday night will bring 1.5 inches of rain to Paradise -up to 4 inches in areas with higher elevation, Baruffaldi said. It has the potential to create mudflows, he said. Boyd told KCRA the rain could also help rescue efforts by ridding the air of dust. “You get rid of the dust, these dogs have a better chance at pinpointing and following their nose to where there may be remains,” Boyd said.

As of Monday night, the Camp Fire was 70% contained and had scorched more than 151,000 acres. The fire also has destroyed more than 11,700 homes and torched an area the size of Chicago, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. (CNN)